Death toll from Hurricane Otis in Mexico rises to 48

The deaths due to the passage of the devastating Hurricane Otis in the Mexican Pacific increased to 48 after this Sunday five people were confirmed dead in Coyuca de Benítez, a neighbor of Acapulco (south).

This is the first known balance of municipalities bordering this tourist port, with nearly 780,000 inhabitants and where the rest of the deaths and most of the material damage are accounted for.

A statement from the federal government also details that the number of missing people decreased to six after in the morning the state of Guerrero, where the spa is located, reported that there were 36.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that this Sunday he will be in Acapulco.

The count of victims has been slow after the cyclone collapsed telecommunications and electricity service, which have been gradually restored over the weekend.

Different media have reported the discovery of apparent bodies in different parts of the port.

Claims for help

The meteor, which arrived early Wednesday morning as a category 5, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, also left a wave of destruction in this city of almost 780,000 inhabitants that lives off the tourism sector, practically in ruins.

“We are making progress in the efficient distribution of humanitarian aid, providing the relevant support and advancing in the restoration of services,” Evely Salgado, governor of Guerrero, reported on X (formerly Twitter).

After Otis passed, shops and supermarkets were looted by residents, desperate for food and water, although theft of various items was also recorded.

Aid from the government and private organizations began to be distributed on Friday afternoon, after the Acapulco airport was opened and traffic on the roads was gradually speeded up.

However, the process is slow and in several neighboring sectors they demand help and organize to clean up the damage to their businesses and homes.

“We have not seen anything from the authorities, that they come to support us,” Miguel Antraca, 60, who went to a beach area to see his small business in ruins, told AFP.

He has experienced other cyclones, but nothing like this. “This is a disaster, this has never happened before, hurricanes were smaller before,” says.

Contrary to all forecasts and breaking records, Otis went from a tropical storm to a powerful category 5 hurricane in about six hours shortly before making landfall.

Usually about 24 hours are enough for businesses, houses, hotels to be protected and residents to get food and water, but the surprise of this meteor took meteorologists and authorities by surprise.

In the same area, Eva Luz Vargas, 45 years old, joined the neighbors to pick up the destruction. At times she looks cheerful, but her voice makes her sad when thinking about tomorrow because she sells to tourists and her husband is a fisherman.

“We want the government to help us because the truth is everything is very ugly”says.

As of Sunday afternoon, the federal government counted more than 273,000 homes, 600 hotels and 120 hospitals with various damages, while twelve highways and roads were still blocked by debris.

The balance adds that electricity has been restored for more than half of the population.

According to the consulting firm Enki Research, specialized in natural phenomena, Otis leaves damage of about US$15,000 million.

Photo: AFP